Exxon abandons Azeri Caspian field

BAKU, Feb 11 (Reuters) – U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has abandoned its Nakhichevan field on the Caspian Sea after failing to find commercial deposits, high-level officials from Azeri state oil firm SOCAR said on Friday.

At 7,087 metres, the well was the deepest in the Caspian and Azeri geologists have said it was the most expensive too, costing Exxon more than $100 million.

The results of drilling on the Zafar-Mashal field had been expected to give a big clue as to whether the Caspian country’s shelf contained more significant reserves or whether its potential has been overestimated.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh31300_2005-02-11_10-27-48_l11617556_newsml

BAKU, Feb 11 (Reuters) – U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has abandoned its Nakhichevan field on the Caspian Sea after failing to find commercial deposits, high-level officials from Azeri state oil firm SOCAR said on Friday. The results of drilling on the Zafar-Mashal field had been expected to give a big clue as to whether the Caspian country’s shelf contained more significant reserves or whether its potential has been overestimated.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh31300_2005-02-11_10-27-48_l11617556_newsml